Building on research from @marshallburke.bsky.social and colleagues, new analysis indicates that climate change could downgrade the credit ratings of dozens of countries, with small countries already prone to extreme weather facing the highest risks and penalties. ow.ly/kUOw50YeCqc

The U.S. is reinterpreting its security agreements with Japan and South Korea in ways that could undermine stability and increase tensions and uncertainty in Northeast Asia, cautions @dcsneider.bsky.social: ow.ly/vTv250YeqGB

This year, Israel will hold its first national elections since 2023. Former MK Alon Tal joins Amichai Magen, director of the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social, to explain the state of Israeli democracy, and what to watch for over the coming months: ow.ly/vMOR50Ycq6v

NASA's ambitions to go to the moon are both a reminder of American government prowess at its best and a warning about the knock-on effects of reduced state capacity, writes @frankfukuyama.bsky.social in Persuasion: ow.ly/1mMq50YbYUO

Applications for the annual $100,000 Rosenkranz Prize from @healthpolicy.stanford.edu are now open! The prize is open to Stanford researchers of any discipline working on a project to improve global health in low- to middle-income countries. Apply by February 28. LEARN MORE: ow.ly/MVPn50YaFCK

Data from @marshallburke.bsky.social shows that death from exposure to wildfire smoke is the largest climate change threat to the U.S. in terms of economic impact, but funding cuts could jeopardize further research into mitigation and prevention strategies. ow.ly/P5wT50Y8Yhg

Nice coverage by @fsi.stanford.edu on a recent presentation by CASBS fellow @wwc557.bsky.social on his findings from an original multi-wave survey program examining Taiwanese public opinion on national security aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/news/survey-...

"While deterrence is costly, it's a lot cheaper than war." @fsi.stanford.edu Center Fellow Oriana Skylar Mastro explains why the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific not only prevents major conflicts in the region but also protects American freedoms. 🎧️ Listen via @wbur.org On Point: buff.ly/r2pQgvJ

The New START Treaty expires today. But to learn how it began and what it meant for global nuclear arms control, read NEGOTIATING THE NEW START TREATY by Rose Gottemoeller of @stanfordcisac.bsky.social, the lead U.S. negotiator of the deal. 📚 Available from @CambriaPress ↘️ ow.ly/NbIM50Y8lFE

Venezuela, Greenland, Denmark, Europe, NATO, Iran, China, Japan . . . @frankfukuyama.bsky.social gets into all of the latest developments in international relations and more with @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social. Watch now ⏯️ ow.ly/6u9L50Y6Oth

Retreating into spheres of influence does not secure U.S. interests or consolidate its strength, and will likely create severe strategic dilemmas as allies turn away and enemies converge, cautions @glandsbergis.bsky.social in @foreignpolicy.com.

"A more extended, deliberative electoral process would not only be more democratic; it would also produce candidates with the ability to forge compromises and craft broader coalitions," says Larry Diamond of @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social on ranked choice voting in @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social.

Dry January is wrapping up. Was it worth it? Whether a month of sobriety is a temporary pause or the start of a lifestyle change, participating in the trend can positively impact your health, says Keith Humphreys of @healthpolicy.stanford.edu in the @sfchronicle.com: ow.ly/z2HH50Y5HMG

Scholars from @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social have compiled the largest dataset of biographic and demographic information on national legislators ever assembled, allowing researchers to better assess how often voters elect those with life experiences resembling their own: ow.ly/vTj050Y5srV

Is the answer to populist revolts against government...more government? @frankfukuyama.bsky.social joins @theunpopulist.net to debate the value of state capacity and the "deep state," and why liberal states in complex modern societies need a functional bureaucracy. ow.ly/AtgY50Y4ARf

A study by @healthpolicy.stanford.edu researchers finds that the use of a self-administered electronic intervention via an app led to cessation of benzodiazepines among long-term users, creating a potentially low-cost and scalable way to help address benzos dependence: ow.ly/aPwL50Y47kY

Delighted to welcome Ambassador, Mayor, Congressman, and former White House Chief of Staff @rahmemanuel.bsky.social for a conversation with @fsi.stanford.edu's @mcfaulmike.bsky.social on U.S. alliances with Japan and other key partners, leadership at home and abroad in this pivotal moment, and more.

🎧 New #WorldClassPodcast episode! 🎧 FSI Director Colin Kahl joins @mcfaulmike.bsky.social to discuss the importance of innovative research and data-driven policy in an era of rapidly changing global order, and to announce a new host for the podcast.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has exceeded expectations thus far by stabilizing foreign relations and securing pragmatic gains with the United States, China and Japan, but he's not out of the woods, writes @dcsneider.bsky.social in @eastasiaforum.bsky.social. ow.ly/TQbA50Y0jbS

With White House rhetoric over Greenland escalating, @frankfukuyama.bsky.social urges European leaders to stand firm and not concede on issues of trade, tariffs, or territory. ow.ly/xw1q50Y0esp

Project Unleaded grew out of a successful lead intervention in Bangladesh. Thanks to recent gifts, the initiative is now expanding to address pervasive lead contamination worldwide. 📖 stanford.io/4sGBTrE 🎥 bit.ly/3LEeaYA

Writing in @foreignpolicy.com, @glandsbergis.bsky.social argues that the American strikes in #Venezuela signal an abrupt and deliberate retreat from the United States' position of global superpower, not a continuation of traditional power projection. ow.ly/uyhG50XXqSY

Venezuela shows U.S. shifting focus to "the one region where [its] dominance faces no serious challenge,” which raises concerns that "there might be strategic neglect of the Indo-Pacific moving forward," @fsi.stanford.edu @stanfordcisac.bsky.social Oriana Skylar Mastro cautions.

Want to understand better what is happening and why in Iran? Listen to Abbas Milani here: McFaul’s World Podcast: Talking Iran with Abbas Milani open.substack.com/pub/michaelm...

🗓️ UPCOMING EVENT | Jan. 20, 3:30pm PT Join us in-person or online for a discussion about AI's impact on the world with distinguished tech executive Craig Mundie and @nytimes.com columnist Tom Friedman. Opening remarks by FSI Director Colin Kahl, co-sponsored by @stanfordhai.bsky.social.

Writing for Persuasion, @frankfukuyama.bsky.social offers a cautionary tale from America's past about the pitfalls of nation-building and "nation building-lite," and how that should inform U.S. actions in #Venezuela moving forward.

"The AI race is no longer a sprint toward a single finish line nor is it even a marathon. Instead, the United States and China are competing in an AI decathlon and the U.S. must shift its strategy accordingly," writes FSI Director Colin Kahl in @foreignaffairs.com

The authoritarian framework of fear, coercion, and economic control is starting to crumble in #Iran, writes Abbas Milani in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social. ow.ly/PJoU50XUpiz

Driving stoned is not as dangerous as driving drunk, but it's still worse than driving sober, write Keith Humphreys and @beaukilmer.bsky.social. Read their suggestions for how screening for marijuana use can be improved to keep roads and drivers safer.

📹 New APARC Briefing episode | @larrydiamond.bsky.social of @fsi.stanford.edu & @hooverinstitution.bsky.social joins APARC's Kiyoteru Tsutsui to unpack the implications of the U.S. actions in Latin America for Taiwan, U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific, and global order and security. buff.ly/7mGj7jE

Irrespective of its technological advances and manufacturing capabilities, China's system of totalitarian party-state rule is ultimately going to curtail its ability to win the AI-led industrial revolution, argues @chenggang-xu.bsky.social of the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions.

🗓️ UPCOMING EVENT: Jan. 7, 12:00pm PT Scholars from @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social & @stanfordcisac.bsky.social will discuss plausible futures now confronting #Venezuela, and how the current situation could lead to authoritarian rebalancing, prolonged disorder, or democratic recovery. ow.ly/zAzW50XSzRU

Thank you for engaging with our work in 2025! From all of us at FSI, we wish you a happy holiday season and a peaceful new year.

Explore FSI's contributions to international research, teaching, and policy this year in our 2025 Annual Report, which includes a final letter from @mcfaulmike.bsky.social as the institute's director.

What does the war in Ukraine look like from Europe, and what will it take to sustain support? Former Lithuanian FM Gabrielius Landsbergis, now a visiting fellow at Stanford, joined me on @fsi.stanford.edu World Class Podcast for a conversation on both. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/37mo...

As the possibility of cuts to Medicaid increases, Lee Sanders of @healthpolicy.stanford.edu explains why it's essential to understand how changes to pediatric hospitals could affect families’ access to care, as well as the financial stability of health systems. ow.ly/eTya50XK7lA

Please join us in congratulating @jimgoldgeier.bsky.social for being elected President of the International Studies Association (ISA) for the 2027–2028 term! cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/news/jim-gol...

Gabrielius Landsbergis, former foreign minister of Lithuania @stanfordcisac.bsky.social, shares what the Ukraine war has felt like as a European, and what must be done to support Ukraine for the long-term. Listen to the #WorldClassPodcast with @mcfaulmike.bsky.social: ow.ly/VEsG50XJw7r

Andrew Grotto of @stanfordcisac.bsky.social makes the case against GovClouds as a fix for cyberthreats and outlines what needs to be done to improve America's digital and cyber-based national security. ow.ly/fx8b50XIQhX

🗣️ Calling all democracy activists! There is still time to apply for the 2026 Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program at Stanford to participate in a life-changing experience! Applications close January 15 at 11:59 pm PST. Learn more and get started ➡️ https://cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/summerfellows/apply

The New START Treaty could be leveraged to advance denuclearization goals in areas not currently covered by the original agreement, writes Steven Pifer of @stanfordcisac.bsky.social in @thebulletin.org: ow.ly/jYce50XIyWc

At an @aparc.stanford.edu China Program seminar, former U.S. diplomat David Meale explains why he is cautiously optimistic about the future of U.S.-China relations and the prospect for a “managed rivalry” relationship that is neither warm nor easy, but still constructive. ow.ly/yryk50XHgef

Unless the U.S. Air Force finds a way to better balance readiness and airworthiness, @stanfordcisac.bsky.social visiting scholar Lt. Col. Austin Gruber worries that the force may be left with few engineering risks and liabilities, but unable to command the skies. ow.ly/ZX9F50XGHsP

🟣 Idea #64 — New by Tabatha Abu El-Haj of Drexel University Kline School of Law & Didi Kuo @fsi.stanford.edu — "Building Associational Parties" Part of @nyulaw.bsky.social Democracy Project's "100 Ideas in 100 Days" series Read the full piece here: democracyproject.org/posts/buildi...

In comments made to @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social, @dcsneider.bsky.social explains how Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan have ended up in a staring match of wills over Taiwan: ow.ly/cuSC50XG7vg

Full house tonight for my Autocrats vs. Democrats book talk at Stanford! Grateful to everyone who came out, asked great questions, and stayed around to introduce themselves afterwards

What is "mirror life" and how could it advance — or threaten — life and biology on Earth? Experts from @healthpolicy.stanford.edu and @law.stanford.edu discuss the high-stakes scientific, ethical, and regulatory challenges behind this emerging science: ow.ly/x4Hv50XFw8y

Drawing on his own experiences negotiating with the Kremlin, @mcfaulmike.bsky.social weighs in on the current back-and-forth between Russia, the U.S., Ukraine, and Europe, and why a peace deal to end the war remains elusive: ow.ly/oMma50XBHhj

Although South Korea withstood the political storms following President Yoon's attempt at martial law, the events of the past year have “illustrated a fragile democracy divided against itself." What can be done? Read @thediplomat.com piece by APARC's Gi-Wook Shin and Kerstin Norris

📰 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS 📰 Know outstanding journalists or news outlets providing excellent coverage of the Asia-Pacific region? Nominate them for the 2026 Shorenstein Journalism Award @aparc.stanford.edu! Submission deadline is February 15, 2026. Details below: ow.ly/881750XBqQ3